'Enough to wake dead': road train torched

Residents in a Northern Territory community woke up to "big bangs" as eight cars on the back of a road train were engulfed in flames in what police say was an act of arson.

Shortly after 11pm, police received a report of a vehicle on fire in front of the Ti Tree Roadhouse, 190 kilometres north of Alice Springs.

"The driver of the carrier was asleep in the cabin of the truck at the time when he was awoken by the sound of breaking glass, " Duty Superintendent John Emeny said.

"He found that one of the vehicles was ablaze with the flames spreading quickly to other vehicles contained on two trailers."

He says officers used information from the public to arrest a man at a nearby campsite.

"He is presently being held at the Ti Tree police station and detectives from the Alice Springs regional investigations division, along with fire investigators and forensic crime scene examiners will be attending Ti Tree this morning."

Alan Byram, who works at the Ti Tree Roadhouse, says the fire woke most of the community.